[Critch]

Oooh, a dynasty that's made it to page 2. I'm not sure I've ever done a dynasty that made it to page 2.

Before the playoffs start, here are a couple of things I've forgot to mention. When I checked the stats last year it turned out the Anchorage powerplay was scoring at 14.0%, dead last in the NHL. I made a few changes for this season, and I've made a point of making sure I update the PP lines for injuries and the powerplay is now at 20.0% and 11th in the league. Much more acceptable.

And the other thing I forgot is the season's lines, so here's what the plan is for the playoffs:

1st Line - Lucas Karmiris/Jordan Gavin/Emil Hemming - a change mid-season when Vasili Podkolzin dropped off the first line for Hemming. With Jordan Gavin role changing to Speedy Forward ("A forward whose main contribution to the team is getting up ice very quickly") the first line was too attacking. They were as likely to give up a goal as score a goal, they all had negative +/-. Hemming replaced Podkolzin as he's a more defensive forward and it's worked so far. Hemming will be missing the first game, he got a 8 game suspension with 7 regular season games remaining, he smooshed a Blackhawk player all over the boards. (Yes autospell, I meant smoosh, he didn't get a penalty for smooching a Blackhawk player)
2nd Line - Urho Mattila/Oskar Vuollet/Vasili Podkolzin - Podkolzin down to add some scoring to this line, hopefully. He's had an OK season but the scoring has dropped off, seven seasons of 20+ goals for Anchorage until this year, 17 this year. He'll be 32 by next season, he's started showing up on the monthly dev report with negative changes, and he's looking for $8.5 per year for 3 years to re-sign, so he'll be leaving after the playoffs. Unless we win the Stanley Cup, you've got to keep the gang together for another year if you win the Stanley Cup. Mattila has had a good but injury disrupted year, and Vuollet is the holding pivot that lets Mattila and Podkolzin concentrate on attack.
3rd Line - David Prudek/Kaden Pitre/Jorgen Palm - The PPP line from last year's playoffs is back, but it's now Prudek instead of Poltapov. Still big guys, still defensive, if anything Prudek is meaner than Poltapov despite being a youngster.
4th Line - Jeff Martin/Nicholas Moldenhauer/Prokhor Poltapov - Jeff Martin (no.1 prospect in the league apparently) has been getting his taste of NHL life on the 4th line, but next year he'll be top six. He's more of a power forward than a skill player. Moldenhauer got his place when Svoboda season, and probably NHL career, came to an end with injury. Poltapov is just getting a jersey til he leaves in the summer. He's had a good season, but he's a bottom 6 forward and he wants $6.5mil to re-sign, he'll be in the KHL this time next year.

1st Pair - Weston Knox/Henry Mews - Mews has been our star defender for years, and Knox has great chemistry with him so they're the standard top pair. Mews floats around passing and setting up attacks, Knox does all the hard work covering, or springing forward when needed.
2nd Pair - Easten Turko/Tomas Lavoie - another steady pairing, Turko has stepped up after signing his new contract, glad I didn't dump him last summer. I think his problem last year was a game problem, he was defensive forward so didn't score, didn't get assists so his Game Rating was always poor. The Game Ratings are unbalanced, goalies always get better ratings than Forwards, who always get better ratings than Defensemen. Now he's playing as a two-way defenseman he's looking better. Tomas Lavoie has been around for ever, but hes a free agent and wants a big raise to stay so might be coming to his end in Anchorage.
3rd Pair - Matthew Paranych/Jackson Gillespie - Matthew Paranych was a waiver pickup from Toronto at the start of the season and he's been fine on a league minimum wage. Jackson Gillespie? Why am I paying a mediocre third pair D $3.7 per year for the next three years? Is it just because he has a cool name? (Yes)

Goalies - Evan Maillet and Lucas Wall - This is the cost cutting section of the team, both are on $750k per year. Maillet is on his last NHL chance, Wall with his rookie contract. Lucas Wall has the better star rating (he's slowly increased to 4.0 over the season) but he's happy with his playing time after 7 games in half a season so even he doesnt think he's ready to be full time starter. If Maillet doesnt perform, it might be Wall's time.


2032/33 Playoffs Round 1 - San Jose Sharks
It was the San Jose Sharks who ended Anchorage's hopes last year when they put us out 4-1 in the second round, they are now listed on the Anchorage Huskies detail page as "potential rivals". All my homies hate the San Jose Sharks. It's a one-way thing though, their detail page says their rivals are Anaheim and LA Kings, it doesn't mention the Huskies at all.

Anchorage played them twice in the regular season and won both, 4-3 at San Jose, 5-2 at home. Anchorage will have home advantage.

Game 1 - San Jose Sharks 1 Anchorage Huskies 4
Anchorage come out the gates flying, outshoot San Jose 18-5 in the first and go in 2-0 up with goals from Jeff Martin after 3:04 and Oskar Vuollet (9:03). Second period is more balanced, but David Prudek adds to the lead early on and we're into the third period with a 3-0 lead. San Jose pull one back midway through the third, but an empty net goal from Urho Mattila ends it. Goalie Evan Maillet is super solid, saving 30 of 31 shots, rookie David Prudek is star of the game with a goal and an assist.

Game 2 - San Jose Sharks 3 Anchorage Huskies 0
Good news is Emil Hemming is back from his suspension and into the top line, bad news is Weston Knox is missing with a sore knee, listed day-to-day. Jackson Gillespie moves up to partner Mews on the top pair, time to earn his silly salary, rookie Steve Peters comes into the third pair. First period is even and scoreless, but San Jose score 3 in a burst in the middle of the second period and it's all over. Last year we won the first game against San Jose, then lost the next four. Hope this isnt history repeating itself. We're off to San Jose with the series tied.

Game 3 - Anchorage Huskies 1 San Jose Sharks 4
Weston Knox still has a sore knee, but he can be risked so he comes in. Gillespie and Mews were terrible in the last game, so we have to risk it. Vuollet puts Anchorage up in the first, but San Jose score 3 in the second period again and it's all over. Maillet lets in 4 goals on 28 shots, .857 save percentage. Is it Lucas Wall's time to shine?

Game 4 - Anchorage Huskies 5 San Jose Sharks 2
Evan Maillet stays in, 2-1 down seems a bit early to panic and throw in an injury prone 21 year old backup with 13 NHL game experience. Anchorage come out like they mean it, outshoot San Jose 16-9, but fall behind in the last minute of the period to a power play goal. Confusingly the San Jose player who scores has a name very similar to mine so I think I've scored for them til I double check. He does it again in the second to put them 2-0 up, but that's when the game turns. Kaden Pitre gets us on the board and back into it, Henry Mews ties it up, Kaden Pitre scores again to give us the lead, then Vuollet makes it 4-2 before the midpoint of the second period. The only scoring in the third is a late empty net goal for Emil Hemming and we're back to Anchorage tied. I knew leaving Evan Maillet in was a smart move...

Game 5 - San Jose Sharks 2 Anchorage Huskies 0
Well this blows. We're outshot in all three periods, San Jose score twice in the second, and we're on the verge of being knocked out. Since boasting about the improvements in the power play, Anchorage are 0-10 in this series. Back to San Jose to try and save the series.

Game 6 - Anchorage Huskies 2 San Jose Sharks 1
What's this? We're still alive? We didn't collapse under the stress? That's not like us. San Jose go into the lead 7:43 into the first, Calum Ritchie scores again for them, guy is getting on my nerves, but late on in the first the Anchorage power play comes alive, Jordan Gavin gets his first (and the power plays first) goal of the series. Urho Mattila puts Anchorage 2-1 up two minutes into the second period and that's the end of the scoring. It's a goalie duel, Maillet saves 29 of 30 shots, their guy Dylan Silverstein saves 33 of 35 and it's all got low scoring, tense and playoff-like all of a sudden. Since I briefly thought about dropping Maillet he's saved 73 of 78 shots and kept us in the series. Back to Anchorage for a decider.

Game 7 - San Jose Sharks 1 Anchorage Huskies 7
Third line center Kaden Pitre will be missing the game with a day-to-day injury, so it's a third line shake-up. Polpatov moves from right wing to center, Jorgen Palm comes back into right wing. He was dropped early in the series for playing like a 6'8'' giraffe on ice. Things get off to a good start, Henry Mews with a power play goal after 3:08, Oskar Vuollet makes it 2-0 after 6:53, then adds another after 14:15. Shots are level 10-10 after the first, but we're 3-0 up. Second period goes much the same way, we have 12 shots but score 3 more. Lucas Karmiris (2:16), Jordan Gavin with another powerplay goal after 11:27, Oskar Vuollet finishes his hattrick after 17:21. The hats raining down on the ice give San Jose time to pull their goalie, but it's all over. Vasili Podkolzin makes it 7-0 early in the third before that knob Calum Ritchie scores his 5th goal of the series, but it's just a late consolation. We're through to round 2.

Wonder if San Jose still think we're not their rivals?

Next up we're facing the division's #1 seed Los Angeles Kings.

I got a little popup Steam achievement for winning a 7 game series after being 3-2 down.